Does 'plodding' UN chief Ban Ki-moon have his eye on becoming South Korea's new president?

He has been branded "plodding", "painfully ineloquent" and the worst secretary general in the history of the United Nations, but Ban Ki-moon is the firm favourite to become the next president of South Korea.

Mr Ban was a speaker at the three-day Jeju Forum, which opened on May 25, and officially expressed his desire to "achieve a good ending" to his UN tenure.

But he also used his trip to make some pointed criticisms of the domestic political scene.

South Korea is "extremely divided", he said, while diplomatic efforts are the only way to bridge the widening chasm with North Korea. That is in stark contrast to the government of Park Geun-hye, which has largely given up attempting to negotiate with Pyongyang in the face of provocations, not least the detonation of its fifth nuclear device in January.

Mr Ban also met a number of politicians during his trip, including the chief policymaker of the Saenuri Party, and Kim Jong-pil, a former prime minister who is now considered a political king-maker.

The South Korean public senses that the 71-year-old is planning to throw his hat into the ring after leaving New York, and they approve.

In a poll conducted by the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper during Mr Ban's visit, more than 28 percent singled the UN chief out as the nation's next leader. His closest rival, Moon Jae-in, of the opposition Minjoo Party, had the support of just over 16 percent.

"In Korea, it doesn't matter what his record has been like at the United Nations", said Rah Jong-yil, a former South Korean ambassador to London and Tokyo. "To most people here, simply being elected secretary general of the UN has made him a success and they are happy to overlook the criticisms that he has faced.

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon gestures during a press conference on May 24, 2016, in IstanbulCredit:
AFP

"The public here is also sick and tired of the existing candidates and politicians in general, as we saw in the general election", he told The Telegraph.

In April's election, the Saenuri Party lost 24 seats and control of the parliament, although Mrs Park remains president. And while opposition parties made gains, they are just as divided.

As a result, any one of the parties would like Mr Ban as their figurehead going into next year's presidential elections.

"There's a lot of cynicism about how the political game is being played here, about patronage and political support, so an outsider like Mr Ban is seen as not being tarnished by the system", said Daniel Pinkston, a professor of international relations at the Seoul campus of Troy University.

"Mr Ban is seen as not having been corrupted by those political processes, and that puts him in a very strong position".

With Mrs Park required to stand down once her five-year term is concluded, Mr Ban would appear to be her natural successor, although Professor Pinkston said the "volatile and personality-based" nature of South Korean political parties may encourage him to create a new party in his image and to poach supporters from across the political spectrum.

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